Web screen printing machine



June 27, 1967 G. B. MELTON WEB SCREEN PRINTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Sept. 2, 1964 N m N R W m m z m a v 0 7 8 m0 4 z l i I I I i I I ilhlllpll nl u l llllll' hll-l ll d M W n l l I I I I "6 \M s W R Q mm Nm3? wa o R \m QM /L "mm June 27, 1967 G. B. MELTON WEB SCREEN PRINTING-MACHINE Filed Sept. 2, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 27, 1967 MELTON3,327,627

WEB SCREEN PRINTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2, 1964 3 SheeosSheet 3 I76. 7 HG. 8 v INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 3,327,627 WEB SCREEN PRINTING MACHINE Guilford B.Melton, Galfney, S.C., assignor to Southerr Powell Corporation, CherokeeFinishing Company Division, Gatfney, S.C., a corporation of DelawareFiled Sept. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 393,898 1 Claim. (Cl. 101-123) The presentinvention relates generally to a screen printing machine in which afabric or other article to be printed is passed on a conveyor under ascreen carried by the machine and the screen is vertically movable intoand out of engagement with the fabric between successive steps ofmovement of the fabric on the conveyor.

Presently in use are screen printing machines having silk screensthrough which ink is pressed by a conventional scraper moving back andforth on a tie rod, the silk screen being carried by a frame andsuspended from the tie rod for movement with the tie rod into and out ofengagement with the fabric to be printed.

Due to the thinness of the silk carried by the frame the silk screen issubject to damage if not carefully handled in its movement into and outof engagement with the fabric to be printed. Also, because the ink whichhas been pushed through the screen and printed on the fabric causes thescreen to adhere to the fabric it is advantageous to be able to lift upone end or the other end of the screen as desired in order to free thescreen from the fabric without damage to the screen. Machines pres entlyin use are constructed so that one end of the screen is repeatedlyraised before the other end is raised or both ends are raisedsimultaneously.

An object therefore of the present invention is to provide a mechanismin connection with a screen printing machine which, at the will of theoperator, permits raising of the screen at either end first and then theother or both ends simultaneosuly.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedmeans of moving the scraper mechanism in both directions on the tie rodsover the screen, such improved mechanism providing a wide range ofvariable speed of the machine in its printing cycle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a screenprinting machine of new construction, one simple in structure, oneeasily constructed and assembled, one which is highly eflicient inaction, and one which is economically feasible.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from a consideration of the following description when taken inthe light of the appended drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of the machine according to the presentinvention.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view of the machine as seen longitudinally ofthe conveyor on which the fabric travels,

FIGURE 3 is a front end view of the machine transversely of theconveyor,

FIGURE 4 is a rear end view,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the machine as seen inFIGURE 2, on an enlarged scale and with parts broken away,

FIGURE 6 is a view taken on line 66 of FIGURE 5, on an enlarged scale,

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of a portion of the machine,and

FIGURE 8 is a view taken on the line 8-8 of FIG- URE 5.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings in which like numeralsindicate like parts throughout the several views, the machine of thepresent invention includes a bed having columns 12 along one side ateach end thereof and columns 14 along the other side at each end thereofwith a rail 16 on the upper ends of each pair of columns 12 and 14 asshown most clearly in FIGURE 3.

Along the rails 16 is rollably supported a carriage 18 having a frontend 20 and a rearward end 22 as shown in FIGURES l and 2.

Mounted on the carriage 18 for upward and downward movement arelaterally spaced apart tie rods 24 and 26 arranged horizontally andcarrying thereon across member 28 from which depends a scrapingmechanism 30 including blades 32.

The cross member 28 is driven longitudinally of the tie rods 24 and 26by means of a chain drive 34 running over sprockets 36 and 38 at thefront end and rear end of the carriage, respectively. The sprocket 36 ismounted upon a motor shaft 40 rotated by an hydraulic motor 42 which iscarried by the carriage 18.

The sprocket 38 is carried on a transversely arranged shaft 44 supportedat its ends in trunnions 46 depending from the tie rods 24 and 26.

Suitable automatic controls are provided but are not shown here forautomatically reversing the travel movement of the cross member 28 whenit reaches one end of the printing frame 48 depending from and supportedby the brackets 50 mounted on the tie rods 24 and 26.

A conventional screen is mounted in the printing frame 48 and the blades32 are used to press ink or other printing material through theinterstices of the screen to apply the ink or other printing material toa fabric carried on the bed of a conveyor designated generally by thereference numeral 51 in FIGURES 1 and 2.

The hydraulic motor 42 provides a means for driving the cross member 28which is new and important in the printing industry. Previously electricmotors have been used with but a single speed. The hydraulic drive ofthe present invention provides a variable speed for the cross memberpermitting a faster cycle of operation than the electric motor drive andalso a slower cycle of operation when desired.

The invention also provides a novel means for lifting the frame from thefabric or material being printed by lifting either one or the other endsof the frame or by lifting the both ends simultaneously at the will ofthe operator.

This means includes an hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 52 having itspiston rod 54 connected to one end of a swinging arm 56 which has itsother end fixedly secured to a gear 58, the gear 58 being mounted upon ashort shaft 60 journalled in uprights 62 rising from the rear end 22 ofthe carriage 18 as shown most clearly in FIGURE 4.

An identical mechanism, as shown in FIGURE 3, is mounted on the frontend 20 of the carriage 18.

Shafts 64 at each end of the carriage 18 are journalled for rotation intrunnions 66 and a gear carried on the mid portion of the shaft 64, asat 68, is meshingly engaged with the gear 58.

A cam is carried on each end of each of the shafts 64 for rotationtherewith and is supportingly engaged with the tie rods 24 and 26 forraising and lowering the tie rods 24 "and 26 as a result of itsrotation, the cams 70 also bearing upon adjacent portions of thecarriage 18 as shown most clearly in FIGURE 5 with reference to therearward end 20 of the carriage 18.

It will be seen therefore that upon the admission of hydraulic fluid orair under pressure into the hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 52 thepistons 54 will be extended and the arm 56 swung upwardly so that thegears 58 and 68 rotate to rotate the cam 70 which affects the upwardmovement of the tie rods 24 and 26 at either end of the carriage 18 withthe cylinder 52 actuated simultaneously or independently of each otheras desired.

Each of the blades 32 is provided with an adjusting device for raisingthe blade into and out of engagement with the screen, as shown inFIGURES 6 and 7. This means includes studs 72 having brackets 74 ontheir lower ends with lock nuts 76 positioning the studs 72 at theproper height according to the blade 32 and its engagement with thescreen.

Brackets 78 carry the studs 72 and are themselves dependingly carriedfrom the cross member 28 as shown in FIGURE 5.

A tilting mechanism, indicated generally by the reference numeral 80brings one or the other of the blades into contact with the screendepending upon the direction of travel of the cross member 28 in theconventional manner for which no invention is claimed.

The printing frame 48 is received at each end on an S-shaped plate 82carried by the adjacent bracket 50 with pins 84 projecting upwardly fromthe plate 82 and received in holes provided in the adjacent portion ofthe printing frame 48.

Lateral adjustment of the printing frame is made possible by a chain andgear drive designated generally by the reference numeral 86 in FIGURE 8,this being necessary so that proper register of the screen can be madewith reference to the printing done by a previous screen on the fabricor article to be printed.

The cams 70 Work against compression spring and rod assemblies 71 and73, at the forward and rearward ends of the carriage 18, respectively.Such spring suspension assemblies 71 and 73 are conventional and serveto resiliently support the printing frame and screen on the fabric orsurface to be printed. The cams '70 first relieve the compression in thespring assemblies as they rotate to lift the frame upwardly to theposition freeing the screen from the printed fabric.

The invention also includes, at the forward end of the carriage 18,means for adjustably limiting the downward travel of the frame. Thismeans consists in adjustable and tapered plugs 75 receivable in matchingsockets 77 upon execution of downward movement of the frame, insuringexact positioning and registry of the frame and screen upon the fabricto be printed.

In use, the carriage 18 may be shifted along the rail 16 and locked inplace by a hand set screw 88 in FIG- URE so that more than one carriage18 may be employed upon the rails 16 and bed 10, thus permitting severalscreens to be used simultaneously or in successive steps on one piece offabric as it travels over the conveyor 51.

After each successive printing of one screen, the tie rods 24 and 26 areraised either at both ends simultaneously or one end first and then theother so that the screen is lifted from the fabric being printed.Downward movement of the tie rods 24 and 26 takes place as a result ofgravity and the forces of spring and rod assemblies 71, 73 when the camis rotated to its original position.

While only a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown,other embodiments are contemplated and numerous changes andmodifications may be made in the invention without departing from thespirit thereof as set forth in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

A screen printing machine comprising:

a pair of parallel tie rods extending longitudinally from a first end toa second end of the machine;

a carriage slidably mounted for reciprocable movement on the tie rods,said carriage comprising,

a transverse beam, the ends of said beam being slidably mounted on thetie rods,

a pair of downwardly extending brackets proximate the ends of the beam,

a pair of relatively angularly disposed squeegee blades secured parallelto the transverse beam by the brackets, and

means for adjusting the position of the blades relative to thetransverse beam;

an endless chain secured at one point to the carriage;

a pair of sprockets disposed at opposite ends of the machine forsupporting the endless chain;

drive means connected to the sprockets for reciprocably moving thecarriage on the tile rods;

a plurality of brackets mounted on the tie rods and extending downwardlytherefrom for supporting a printing frame;

a screen printing frame secured to said brackets, said printing framebeing disposed below and adjacent the squeegee blades;

first and second end carriages;

means securing the respective ends of the tie rods to the first andsecond end carriages for supporting said tie rods;

a plurality of wheels on said end carriages;

first and second rails disposed transversely of the machine proximatethe ends thereof, said rails rollably supporting the first and secondend carriages;

means biasing the respective ends of the tie rods downwardly toward therespective end carriages;

a transverse rod rotatably mounted on each end carrrage;

cams on both ends of each transverse rod, said cams being positioned forlifting engagement with the means securing the ends of. the tie rods tosaid end carriages for lifting the tie rods relative to the respectivecarriage when thetransverse rod is rotated;

a first .gear secured intermediate the ends of each transverse rod;

a second gear engaged with each first gear;

a swinging arm secured to each second gear; and

a linear fluid motor secured to each swinging arm for independentlyrotating each second gear for rotatably driving each transverse rodindependently to lift the respective ends of the tie rods independentlyof the other ends of the tie rods.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 173,792 2/ 1876 Howard 10l--3.l62,355,930 8/1944 Thorne 101-423 2,866,404 12/1958 Laupman 1011233,106,890 10/1963 Schmitt 101-423 3,199,447 8/1965 Jafia et al lO1-1233,207,068 9/1965 Leckie et al. 101-123 FOREIGN PATENTS 647,097' 12/ 1950Great Britain. 912,806 12/ 1962 Great Britain.

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

5 DAVID KLEIN, Examiner.

H. P. EWELL, Assistant Examiner.

